Several agencies are working to keep Lexington safe during 250th celebrations

Next weekend, tens of thousands of spectators will fill the half-mile stretch of Massachusetts Ave. that runs through Lexington Center to mark the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord.

The celebratory weekend will consist of several events, from the annual parade and reenactment of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride to Army troops parachuting onto the Battle Green. 

While the Center will surely be festive and joyous, the vast volume of tourists packed into the small corner of town poses many public safety concerns — how will the flow of traffic be managed? What happens if there’s an emergency and people need to evacuate? 

Sara Porter, supervisor of the public information program for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, or MEMA, told LexObserver that in addition to MEMA, the State Police, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services, the National Guard, FBI Boston, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Park Service, and other organizations helped plan public safety elements for Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Arlington, and Bedford for next weekend.

MEMA will set up a Unified Coordination Center in Lexington “to facilitate timely response to any public safety needs that may arise,” Porter said. 

Porter directed LexObserver to the local police to learn more about specific safety and security efforts. Despite several attempts to speak with Lexington Police leadership over the past month, LexObserver could only obtain a statement from Police Chief Michael McLean. 

“The Lexington Police Department would like to assure residents, participants, and visitors that the safety and well-being of everyone involved is our paramount concern,” McLean said. “During the past year, our department has participated in countless planning meetings and strategy sessions…to build a comprehensive public safety approach.”

He also noted the local services have been collaborating with other agencies to work on public safety obstacles such as “traffic and crowd management to emergency response protocols.”

Intersections will be blocked off with large vehicles and all garbage cans will have wire frames and clear plastic bags, a representative from the town of Lexington told the Observer.

They also said there will be dozens of public safety officials in both uniform and street clothes on Saturday, and all personnel, including town staff, will be credentialed beyond a certain point.

All five living presidents — President Trump and former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton — are invited to attend the celebration, though it is not confirmed if any of them will. If they do attend, they will likely bring additional security.

Dominick Pangallo, the mayor of Salem, which hosts about a million tourists every fall for Halloween celebrations, advised Lexington to not wait until the last minute to plan, anticipate crowds will be larger than they will be, and communicate with residents when he spoke with LexObserver about safety and security measures for large events.

Nobody has been able to estimate quite how large next weekend’s event will be, however. Some have speculated there will be tens of thousands of people visiting town and some as many as hundreds of thousands.

Pangallo said Salem’s safety efforts have evolved over time. Years ago, the city would use sawhorses to barricade roads, but now, it uses anti-vehicle barricades, dump trucks, school buses, and street sweepers to block off streets.  

Salem recently added a camera system and a public address system to the yearly operation, too, so police can better communicate with visitors.

“It’s a very concerted effort to try and keep people safe not just from what could be a planned attack but even just trying to manage the flow of pedestrians and traffic so there isn’t an accidental incident as well.”

Some Lexington residents anticipate political groups will rally during the Patriots’ Day celebrations like in years past. Representatives from the Unitarian Universalist Massachusetts Action Network sent a letter to Unitarian Universalists in Lexington, Concord, Arlington and nearby towns, inviting them to a “de-escalation training” in anticipation of next weekend’s celebrations. 

The Oath Keepers, a far-right antigovernment group, formally launched its organization at Lexington’s Patriots’ Day celebration in 2009, the Globe reported. Elmer Stewart Rhodes III, who has since been indicted for seditious conspiracy for allegedly organizing a plot to storm the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, founded the group.

Some local residents are organizing a peaceful march “in support of the US Constitution and the rule of law and against the actions of the Trump administration,” with Revolutionary-era inspired signs that read “No King! No Tyranny!” and “In America, the Law is King -Thomas Paine, 1776.”

Lexington’s Town Clerk has not received any applications for protest permits as of April 8. [Update: Chief McClean confirmed at a press conference on April 17 that no protest permits have been granted].

Pangallo said protest groups are often the most difficult actions to manage during large events because “we want to be respectful of people’s constitutional rights but also trying to maintain public safety.” 

Last year, someone threw a pipe bomb onto the porch of Salem’s Satanic Temple, protesting religious beliefs, Pangallo said. 

Next weekend’s events in Lexington also come in the wake of threats to safety across the country this year. 

On New Year’s Day at about 3 AM, Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old U.S. Army veteran, drove a pickup truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, LA, killing 14 people. He then exited that truck and engaged in a shootout with police before being fatally shot.

Pangallo met with Salem’s police chief after the incident in New Orleans and discussed how the city can strengthen its security in October. They’re considering whether to block off sidewalks and alleyways in addition to roads, which is not something they’ve done in the past.

McLean told LexObserver “the public can be confident that we have extensive measures in place to ensure a safe and secure experience for everyone.”

“We look forward to celebrating this important moment in our town’s history and we ask for your continued cooperation, patience, and awareness as we work together in a safe and meaningful way,” he said.

Safety guidelines on the Lex250 website note that bags are subject to search at any time and spectators are asked not to bring weapons, flammable liquids, fireworks, tents, canopies, coolers, suitcases or rolling bags, ladders, or step stools to any event. Drone flying is prohibited. Road closures will be in effect from 8 PM on Friday, April 18 through 6 PM on Saturday, April 19. Parking will be limited, and spectators are encouraged to take public transportation or ride their bikes to attend the celebrations.